comment

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- The all-clear has been sounded at the Jewish Community Center on the Hudson in Tarrytown following a bomb threat Monday that caused the evacuation of the building and the bomb squad to respond, police said.

The threat was called in by phone around 9:08 a.m. causing facility staff to contact the Tarrytown Police Department and to begin evacuating the center, said Tarrytown Lt. John Barbalet.

Police responded within minutes and helped with the evacuation while the Westchester County Police bomb squad was called in to sweep the building, he added.

Members of the bomb squad searched the entire building and gave the all clear around 11 a.m., Barbalet said.

The Tarrytown bomb threat is the latest in a string across the country according to a press release last week by the JCC Association of North America.

Over the course of four dates in January and February, 53 JCCs in 26 states and one Canadian province received a total of 68 phoned-in calls. All proved to be hoaxes, and all JCCs quickly returned to regular operations, the release said.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida and U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley of New York released a letter signed by more than 150 members of Congress and endorsed by several dozen Jewish organizations, including JCC Association of North America, calling on federal agencies to take swift action to address the bomb threats that have been phoned into Jewish community centers in recent weeks.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey released a statement regarding Monday's event saying that her office had been contact with police and the FBI to offer support.